Hungary Needs to Make Amends with IMF, Bank Sector, Says Ex Top Official

On the day Hungary’s government went back to international capital markets with a large issue of U.S. dollar-denominated debt, a well-known former finance minister and central banker took Prime Minister Viktor Orban to task.

Zsigmond Jarai, who served in Mr. Orban’s cabinet during the premier’s first term in office, said that if his former boss is really interested in getting the country’s economy growing again, he needs to make amends with the International Monetary Fund, the banking sector and the central bank.

By doing battle with the IMF, commercial banks and the National Bank of Hungary, Mr. Orban’s government has hurt the country’s image with investors, Mr. Jarai argued at the Hungarian Business Leaders’ Forum on Tuesday.

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